Chapter 41: Yuan Shao Rushes Back to Provide Aid (Part 1)

  It's really true that if you don't look for trouble, trouble won't find you.

  Yuan Shang is actually quite tragic. With a single heart, he wanted to surpass his two half-brothers and gain the right to speak in Yuan Shao's power, but was used by Qin Yu with a hundred-leaked argument under the name of Xu You, and was deceived into opening the south gate of Ye City.

  Originally, if it were just that, after being discovered, even if it was a big deal, it would only be a mistake of listening to false words. After all, Qin Xu and others did not take the opportunity to occupy Ye City, but only moved some military rations. With Yuan Shao's and Liu's indulgence towards Yuan Chang, this matter at most would be reprimanded with a few words to pay attention next time, and it wouldn't have too much impact.

  Yuan Shang did not know which string was wrong, perhaps in order to give a pseudonym Qin Jiu's Qin Xu a head start? Or is it because of the mistaken identity of Qin Xu's "successor" Xu You's intention? Or is it because Yuan Shang's youthful and vigorous heart confused his mind?

  In short, no matter what, Yuan Shang went to the post house.

  Zhang Yang was just a loyal dog of the Yuan family for Yuan Shang, not even a subject. Despite being bullied by Yuan Shao, Zhang Yang still managed to find shelter under Yuan Shao's command and compromise, leaving Yuan Shang without any worries.

  I thought I would taste a delicious little lamb this time, but unexpectedly, facing Yuan Shang's was a mother violent dragon.

  Lü Lingqi's martial arts skills were so impressive that even the people in the camp of the enemy general, who was known for his exceptional eyesight, were amazed. After all, she was Lü Bu's only daughter and had been extremely pampered, inheriting excellent genes and learning three-tenths of her father's skills, making her a completely different level of opponent compared to Yuan Shang.

  So when Yuan Shang had such a sinister thought in his mind, his tragic fate was doomed to be extremely miserable.

  Putting aside the stance of both parties and the contempt for Yuan Shang's behavior, as a "peer", Qin Xu sympathized with Yuan Shang. It was the age of youthful vigor, born into a luxurious family, but unfortunately had to pretend to be someone else in order to contend for the inheritance.

  The head that was beaten by Lü Linggui the other day still hurts, this girl has never had a concept of lightness and heaviness in her hands.

  That night, when Yuan Shang's mournful cry echoed through the wind, Qin Xu had already foreseen his fate.

  Yuan Shang followed Qin Xu's "succession" and Xun Yu's plan, sending his personal attendant, Zhen Huo Wei, with a handwritten order to the granary. He himself was bored and didn't know which unlucky nerve prompted him, but suddenly remembered the glimpse of beauty he caught under the carriage curtain when entering the city.

  At the age of rebellion, Liu's mother, who was usually gentle, strictly restrained him for fear of affecting his reputation, and a bold idea arose in Yuan Shang's mind.

  Lü Bu, the tiger of the world, his daughter is probably not bad-looking either. Zhang Yang sent over his niece, maybe it's a gesture of goodwill to propose marriage through Xu You. Otherwise, why wouldn't he send some other nephew or niece, but instead sends this delicate beauty?

  Yuan Shangyue thought it made sense, his second brother had arranged a marriage with the young daughter of the Zhen family to form an alliance with the powerful Hebei clan, but that little girl was not even nine years old yet. Many smaller families affiliated with the Zhen family hadn't also sent their own daughters as companions under the guise of dowry? Adding to this, after mistakenly offending Qin Xiang and being reminded by him of Lu Lingxue's spoiled nature, Yuan Shangyue felt an impulse rising within him that would make him regret it for the rest of his life.

  So when Yuan Shang arrived at the post house with a small entourage, he specifically instructed them not to go in no matter what happened, planning to take advantage of Zhang Taishou's "kindness" behind everyone's back. Just then, he ran into Lv Linggui, who had just put on her armor and was preparing to meet Qin Xu. Yuan Shang was infatuated, and didn't care why the beauty in front of him was wearing armor; seeing that Lv Linggui's "clothes were disheveled", he couldn't bear it...

  Lü Lingqi, who was extremely shocked and furious, very kindly sent the completely unguarded Yuan Shang to join the "Crotch Covering Faction".

  Fortunately, at dusk, Kong Er saw Yuan Shang at the city gate and heard his miserable cry. Seeing Yuan Shang fall to the ground, he couldn't help but understand Yuan Shang's intention. In a fit of rage, he also knew it wasn't good and managed to stop Lv Lingjie from making Yuan Shang "enter Buddhism through Taoism". He put the unconscious Yuan Shang on horseback and saw that the appointed time was almost up, so he wanted to rush to the south gate to meet with Qin Xu and others.

  Just out of the gate, he ran into Lü Kuang who had come to check on the situation. Lü Kuang could not have imagined that in Ye City, there was someone who dared to attack a general of Yuan Shao's army without saying a word, and this famous person who would later be enfeoffed as a marquis under Cao Cao's command, when attacking XinYe, was defeated by Zhao Yun with just one encounter, and unknowingly followed in the footsteps of Yuan Shang.

  Yuan Shang, who had fainted from the pain, woke up in the midst of the horse's jolting and immediately saw Qin Xu speaking with He Gao Shun, as well as the little beauty who was staring at him with desire.

  Yuan Shang is not a fool, and the idea that Qin Xu and others are here to loot the city as Black Mountain bandits only flashed through his mind before he noticed something was off.

  The Black Mountain bandits, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, were wreaking havoc in Hebei Province, appearing and disappearing without a trace. However, their military strength was not to be underestimated, although they caused Yuan Shao a great deal of trouble, in his heart, they were still just an annoying skin disease that couldn't be gotten rid of. Although Yuan Shao had already learned about the Black Mountain bandits' plan to attack Ye City, he didn't take it seriously at first, as he was busy fighting against Gongsun Zan. The Black Mountain bandits may have had a large number of men, but only a few were truly capable of fighting. In Yuan Shao's opinion, breaking through Ye City was just one of Gongsun Zan's diversionary tactics. It wasn't until the Black Mountain bandits launched a surprise attack on all sides and Zhang Yan led his main force to approach Ye City that Yuan Shao became alarmed. The city's defenses were scattered, and it was only when his second son, Yuan Xi, came to report the emergency that Yuan Shao panicked. With no troops available to dispatch, he could only send a message to Xu You in Henan Province to bring reinforcements, hoping to delay the Black Mountain bandits' advance and give himself time to withdraw and come to Ye City's aid. Of course, if he could also appease Lü Bu along the way and recruit him to his side, that would be even better.

  Yuan Shang knew some of it, but Xu You left in a hurry and Liu didn't tell him the details, so Yuan Shang just thought that Xu You had gone to Hebei, on the one hand to urge Zhang Yang to send troops, and on the other hand to propose marriage for himself. As for what else happened in between, Yuan Shang knew nothing about it. This also led to Yuan Shang not suspecting Qin Jiu at all after he revealed Xu You's itinerary and purpose under the alias of Qin Jiu.

  Lü Linggui, who had been transformed into a female violent dragon by the soft and weak little sister, hurt the weak link again, and was thrown onto the horse. This bumpy road made Yuan Shang feel that if he couldn't detect the trick, then there would be no cure.

  At first, Yuan Shang thought it was a group of bandits from Heishan who had disguised themselves and snuck into Ye City. Even after he came to, he pretended to be unconscious in the hopes of finding an opportunity to escape. However, when he heard the man who had injured him, Lü Linggui, address the one who had deceived him, Qin Jiu, as "Qin Zhubu", and the large man holding him address their leader as "General Gao", Yuan Shang couldn't help but cry out.

  Although Zhang Yan was once appointed as Pingnan Zhonglang General by the imperial court, and the bandit leader Yang Feng was also granted the title of Heishan Xiaowei, how could a loose and disorganized military force like the Black Mountain bandits have such an orderly cavalry, as well as officials like generals and clerks?

  "Third Master Yuan has woken up?" Qin Xu smiled and looked at Yuan Shang, who had ended up in this state due to "physiological urges", and said kindly.

  "What kind of people are you?!" Yuan Shang, after all, was only a fifteen or sixteen year old young master of a noble family, who had been spoiled by Yuan Shao and Liu's favoritism, and had been flattered by his attendants and family generals. His understanding of the situation was still insufficient, and he angrily rebuked: "You treacherous thief! How dare you deceive me into trusting you, and yet harbor such intentions? Don't you fear my father's wrath?"

  "Oh no! Third Master, I'm so scared..." Qin Xu pretended to be frightened by Yuan Shang's words and took the short knife from Old Hui's hand with a trembling voice, saying "Originally, if you didn't wake up, I would have let you go outside the city. Since you're already awake, in order not to let your father, who is prone to fits of rage, discover this, what should I do?"

  "Ah! You dare! My father is Yuan Shao!" Yuan Shang's words were trembling with rage.

  "Shut up!" Lü Linggui rushed over and made a gesture to Yuan Shang's soldiers, "Bang", instantly quiet.

  Gao Shun understood the general idea from Yuan Shang and Lü Lingqi's few words, frowned at Qin Xu and said: "You're too reckless, why did you bring Ling'er along? And also recklessly captured Yuan Shao's son? Too reckless!"

  "Uncle Gao!" Lü Linggui saw that Qin Xu had just teased Yuan Shang, and she was so angry on her behalf that she also felt a bit embarrassed for him. She pouted and said, "Don't mention Qin Xu for now, I don't want to stay in Ye City for another moment, let's go quickly!"

  Gao Shun glanced at Lü Lingqi with a pampered look and said helplessly, "You two should think about how to deal with the master and madam."

  "I told you Qin Xu would bring me here!" Lü Linggui said without thinking, and her previous embarrassed expression was gone.

  Qin Xu was speechless.

  Thanks to their quick action, the situation was still under control, and they did not alert the scattered guards on the city walls within thirty miles, nor the undisciplined family soldiers. The scattered miscellaneous workers had already escaped without a trace, allowing Gao Shun's soldiers to calmly transport grain and grass outside the city before the patrol soldiers arrived.

  Originally, looking at the soldiers who were exhausted from transporting grain and hay back and forth, Qin Xu was worried about how to transport nearly 300 tons of grain and hay. Unexpectedly, after leaving the city gate of Ye Cheng, he discovered a large group of horses. Fortunately, the soldiers of Gao Shun's trapping camp were originally skilled in controlling horses, and the war horses were well-trained, otherwise it would have been difficult for these three hundred people to control more than two thousand horses.

  No wonder I just heard the sound of the ground shaking, but only half of the soldiers in the camp entered the city.

  "This time Cheng will probably cry!" Lv Linggui said with a smile, completely unaware that she had just been caught by the master for framing Qin Xu.

  Gao Shun rushed to Yuan Shao's horse farm outside Ye City after parting with Qin Xu. The horse farm, which only had a groom and a small team of soldiers stationed there, was no match for Gao Shun and his men. In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by Gao Shun's troops.

  Yuan Shao still knew the gap between himself and Gongsun Zan in cavalry, and was not stupid enough to use his old tricks to compete with Gongsun Zan's cavalry. Moreover, Yuan Shao had a special force called Xian Denglisi to counter Gongsun Zan's cavalry. As a result, the best warhorses in the nearby stables of Ye City were left behind and fell into the hands of Gaoshun for nothing.

  Looking at the fine horses that could be counted as one in a hundred, one in a thousand, being used as pack horses to transport military rations, Qin Xu was in high spirits and didn't have the heart to bother with Lv Linggui's betrayal of their comrades at a critical moment. He smiled and said: "It's not just General Cheng, this time Old Yuan will also cry!"

  "Ugh!"

  "Ugh!"

  "Halt, you bandits!"

  "The bandits are few in number! A heavy reward will be given to the master of the house if they capture the bandits alive!"

  The shrill bugle alarm suddenly rang out throughout the city. The shouting and chaotic voices of Yuan Shao's soldiers and the family soldiers of various aristocratic families also came with the wind, clearly audible.

  Qin Xu and others' movements were finally discovered. When Gao Shun entered the city, the scattered fleeing servants were not fools either. After hiding for a long time without finding Gao Shun and others coming to kill them, seeing that their lives were saved, they quickly reported to their superiors to take credit.

  Three to four hundred people took turns carrying 100,000 stones of grain and hay, at the very least they had to make five or six trips back and forth, the last batch of soldiers from the trapped camp even saw the torches in the hands of the soldiers rushing to the city.

  "Qin Xu, you go ahead with them, I'll stay back with Uncle Gao!" Lu Linggui's face didn't show a hint of fear, instead, she had an excited smile, truly worthy of being the beloved daughter of Boss Lu, inheriting his fearless and combative spirit.

  "Ling'er, don't be reckless! Follow Qin Zhongbo and leave quickly!" Gao Shun shouted, holding his horse back with one hand and brandishing his sword with the other.

  "Ugh!"

  "Ugh!"

  Just as Lü Linggui was looking at Gao Shun with a reluctant face, suddenly a chaotic horse hoof and horn sound came from the west gate outside the city.

  "General Gao, Miss Lü, no need to fight, someone has come to rescue us." Qin Xu's tense face relaxed, and he said with a smile.